Childhood Adventures
by tallshadow72
Summary: A collection of one-shots set in my two AUs before the series began.
1. Please Look At Me

**A/N: This takes place in the Little Brother universe. It is set a couple of weeks after the raid; Merlin is 10 and Will is 11.**

 **I don't own Merlin**

* * *

Peeking out from his window, Will saw the old physician leave Hunith's house and mount a horse. Once Gaius had ridden away, Will raced outside and knocked on Hunith's door. "Merlin?" he called. "Merlin!"

Hunith answered the door instead. "Hello, Will. I'm sorry, but I don't think Merlin feels up to playing right now." She cast a worried glance over her shoulder at her son. Merlin was curled up on the bed, facing the wall.

Will frowned. "What did Gaius say? When will he get his voice back?"

Hunith sighed. "It might be another day, it might be another week…there's a good chance it won't come back at all."

Will gaped. "How's Merlin supposed to live with no voice?!"

Hunith furrowed her brow in concern. "I pray that we won't have to find out."

"Well, can I at least see him?" Will begged.

Hunith stood aside so that Will could enter. "Go on, then. Maybe you can get a response out of him."

Will walked into the house and nearly tripped over Mordred. Mordred looked up at the older boy. "Wa-wa?"

"No," Will corrected. "Will."

"Wih."

"Will."

"Wih."

Will laughed. "Close enough, I guess." He walked over to the bed, where he could still see a fading ring of bruises around Merlin's neck. "C'mon, Merlin. It's not the end of the world if you can't talk."

Merlin simply curled up into a ball.

"Are you going to spend the rest of your life staring at the wall?" Will demanded.

Merlin nodded.

"Oh come on, if you do that then the Camelot people win."

A shrug.

Will sat in silence for a few moments, trying to think of an activity that might motivate his friend to get up and return to some semblance of his old self. "It's a really nice day. We could go down to the river and go swimming."

Merlin shook his head.

"…We could play pranks on Old Man Simmons?"

Another shake of the head.

Will slouched and swung his feet over the edge of the bed. There _had_ to be _something_ that could cheer up his friend, right? But no, Merlin was convinced that life was pointless without his voice.

Suddenly, Will sat up straight. That was it! Merlin needed something to replace his voice! "Hey Merlin. How about we make up a new language? One where you use your hands instead of talking out loud?"

After a few moments, Merlin slowly sat up and turned to look at Will, a hopeful expression on his face.


	2. Ducks

**A/N: This is set in the Prince of Magic universe. Merlin is 9, Arthur is 11, and Morgana is 12.**

* * *

Uther, Arthur, Merlin and Morgana all sat down to breakfast. "It's a beautiful day," Uther observed. "What do you say we all go for a ride?"

"Okay!" Morgana said cheerfully. "Where will we ride to?"

"I thought we might ride along the river."

Merlin perked up. "Will there be ducks?"

Arthur rolled his eyes. "What is it with you and ducks?"

Uther laughed. "Possibly."

* * *

An hour later, they were all riding along the river with an escort of knights. Merlin kept his eyes peeled, but he didn't see any ducks. "Father, where are they?" he called.

"Where are what?" Uther replied.

"The ducks!" Merlin said plaintively.

"The only duck here is you," Arthur complained.

Morgana sighed. "Can we race?" she pleaded.

"All right," Uther relented. "But only at a trot!"

His words came too late, for Morgana had already kicked her horse into a gallop. Merlin's horse followed suit, ignoring all of Merlin's attempts to slow down. The rest of the party galloped after them, hoping to catch up and help Merlin control his horse. Just as they reached the younger prince, Merlin looked to the side, leaned over and fell off his horse. He tumbled straight into the river.

"MERLIN!" Uther yelled. The river flowed swiftly, and Merlin was having difficulty remaining afloat.

"I'll get him!" Arthur called. He cantered further downriver before his father could protest. Once he had gone several paces past Merlin, he dismounted and swam into the river. He struggled slightly against the current, but he managed to grab his brother as the latter was swept towards him. He tried to set out for the bank, but he lacked the strength to fight the current and keep Merlin afloat at the same time.

Fortunately, a couple of knights had shed their armor and swam out to help. A couple minutes later, Merlin was lying on the bank, his eyes closed. Arthur fretfully hovered over him. "He's not breathing!"

Morgana started tearing up. "It's all my fault! I started the race!"

"Don't give up just yet," one of the knights growled. He gave Arthur a light shove. "Move." The knight began pumping Merlin's chest. After a few moments, he bent down to breathe into Merlin's mouth. He repeated this several times. Eventually, Merlin coughed and spat up some water. Everyone heaved a huge sigh of relief.

"Thank you, Sir Ector," Uther said gratefully. "Merlin, don't _ever_ do that again."

"I'm sorry," Merlin replied in a small voice.

"What were you _thinking_?" Arthur demanded.

Merlin looked sheepish. "I thought I saw a duck."


	3. Of Trees and Warlocks

**A/N: This is set in the Little Brother universe. Merlin is 13, Mordred is 4 and Will is 14.**

* * *

Merlin was getting seriously worried. He'd taken Mordred with him to gather some berries, but Mordred had disappeared while his back was turned. Merlin had long since abandoned the basket of berries and begun combing the woods.

Merlin stopped short when he heard a giggle above him. Mordred was sitting on a narrow tree branch well over Merlin's head. Merlin waved wildly, but Mordred was intent on a pair of pine cones and did not notice his brother. Merlin sighed in exasperation, then coughed loudly. This startled Mordred into falling off the branch.

Merlin's eyes instantly flashed gold, and Mordred's fall slowed long enough for Merlin to move directly underneath him and catch him. Merlin then proceeded to nearly drop Mordred when he heard a voice behind him.

"I knew it!" Will said, a big grin on his face.

Warily, Merlin shifted Mordred to his hip so he could reply. [What did you know?]

"Don't worry, I'm not going to tell anyone," Will promised. "But I always did wonder why you and Hunith visited the druids so much more than everyone else. Then when you wouldn't explain how you escaped the raid, I started suspecting. You have magic, Merlin, and there's no point in denying it."

Mordred frowned. "You're not s'posed to know that. Merlin, why does he know that?"

Merlin put Mordred down before answering. [Because you went and got yourself into trouble and I had to save you.]

Will rolled his eyes. "He climbed a _tree_ , Merlin. Don't act like you and I never climbed trees when we were his age."

[That's not the point!] Merlin signed angrily. [He could have seriously hurt himself! And how can you be so _calm_ about this?]

"He was just having a bit of fun," Will said soothingly. "He didn't get hurt."

[Not the tree, the magic!] Merlin clarified.

"You're still you, aren't you?" Will said, raising an eyebrow. "You freak out any time Mordred does anything remotely risky and you take everything far too seriously if I don't force you to lighten up."

[So…it doesn't bother you at all? Knowing that I'm… _different_? That I can do things nobody else can do?]

"You were already different," Will said quietly. "I didn't abandon you when you lost your voice, what makes you think I would now?"

Merlin drew a deep, shuddering breath. [You have no idea how much that means to me. Ever since…you know…I can't help believing people will hate me if they find out.]

"Hey, you and Hunith weren't the only people who traded with the druids," Will reminded him. "If your secret _did_ come out, I don't think the village would turn on you."

[Yes, well, I don't care to put that to the test,] Merlin retorted. He looked around, then stiffened when he realized that Mordred had disappeared again. A noise drew his attention to the tree. Mordred was sitting on the same tree branch from before.

Will frowned. "Wait a minute, there aren't any branches low enough for him to reach. Mordred, buddy, how did you get up there?"

"Like this!" Mordred said cheerfully. He vanished from the tree branch and reappeared on the ground next to Merlin.

Merlin and Will shared a wide-eyed glance, then Merlin crouched in front of Mordred. [Mordred, this is really important, do you understand? Don't do that in front of _anyone_ but me, Will, or Mother. Promise me, okay?]

Mordred nodded, swallowing nervously. "I promise."


	4. Enchanting

**A/N: This is set in the Prince of Magic universe. Merlin is 11, Arthur is 13 and Morgana is turning 14.**

* * *

Merlin and Arthur stood chatting near their father in the banquet hall, waiting for the birthday girl to arrive. Eventually, people began turning to the door and whispering. Arthur looked up, and his jaw dropped. "Whoa."

Merlin craned his neck. "What is it?" He tried to see what was so exciting, but all he saw was Morgana entering in a pretty red dress.

Uther hurried forward to greet his ward. "Morgana, you look absolutely wonderful." He offered her his arm and led her to the royal table.

* * *

After the feast, servants moved the tables to the side of the room, and musicians set up to play music for dancing. Uther offered Morgana the first dance, and he was followed by many of the other attending lords. Arthur spent a fair portion of the night dancing with a young lady on whom he had something of a crush.

Merlin kept to the side of the hall, bored by the festivities. Eventually, Morgana joined him, out of breath. "My feet feel ready to fall off," she complained. "I think every lord in Camelot means to dance with me tonight!"

"Maybe you just look… _enchanting_?" Merlin suggested with a giggle.

Morgana laughed with him. "Yes, and my birthday has to be absolutely _magical_."

"They must all be under your _spell_ ," Merlin continued.

"Obviously. I've _bewitched_ the court," Morgana added, now in stitches.

Arthur's voice sounded behind them. "That's not funny, you two."

Both Merlin and Morgana turned to him. Morgana scowled. "Just because _you_ have no sense of fun, that doesn't mean you have to spoil ours."

"You're talking about magic like it…like it's a _good_ thing!" Arthur objected. "You just don't _do_ that!"

" _You_ don't," Merlin corrected. " _We_ do."

"Father would be furious if he heard you," Arthur warned.

"Yeah, well, he's busy dancing with Lady Margaret," Merlin pointed out. "I'm not an idiot."

"That's debatable," Arthur retorted. "I suppose you'd rather be a _sorcerer_ than a knight."

"Sorcerers can do all sorts of neat things," Merlin replied, completely unashamed. "All knights can do is hurt people."

"We defend the kingdom!" Arthur protested.

"You protect some people by hurting others," Morgana countered. "What use are you against plagues or famines or things like that?"

"Yeah, well, _magic_ is never the answer," Arthur insisted. He stalked away to ask his crush for another dance.

Merlin and Morgana looked back at each other. "If you had magic, what would you do with it?" Morgana asked.

"Give Arthur a sense of fun," Merlin replied. "And maybe a pair of donkey ears, 'cause he's such an ass." He and Morgana collapsed into giggles again as they continued discussing what they would do if they were sorcerers.


	5. Irene

**A/N: This is set in the Little Brother universe. Merlin is 16 and Mordred is 7.**

* * *

"Are they here yet?" Mordred asked, looking out the window. Will's aunt, uncle and cousin were supposed to be coming for a visit today, and Mordred was impatient to meet them.

"They'll get here in their own time, Mordred, be patient," Mother answered.

Mordred craned his neck, trying to see down the road that led out of the village. Instead, there was a knock on the back door, and Merlin went to answer it. He opened the door to find a very pretty girl standing there.

"Hello. Are you Merlin?" the girl asked.

Merlin nodded.

"I'm Will's cousin Irene. He said to tell you that we're having a picnic down by the river, and you and your family are invited."

Merlin nodded again, staring at Irene. After a moment, she laughed nervously. "Do I have something stuck in my teeth?" Merlin shook his head. "So why do you keep looking at me like that?"

"Probably because you're pretty," Mordred piped up. "Hi. I'm Mordred."

"Hello." Irene turned back to Merlin. "Am I really so pretty that you're struck speechless?" she asked shyly.

Merlin started and blushed. He hastily signed a reply. "He says he probably would be if he weren't speechless in general," Mordred told Irene.

"He…oh." It was Irene's turn to blush. "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

Merlin shrugged and signed again. "That's okay. Do we need to bring anything to the picnic?"

"Just yourselves. They should be finished setting up by now. I can show you the way, if you like." Irene smiled warmly.

Mother walked up behind them. "That would be wonderful. Thank you, Irene."

* * *

Once they arrived at the picnic, Merlin and Irene ended up eating a little ways away from the rest of the group. "So," Irene began. "Will has told me some _very_ interesting stories about you."

Merlin lowered his roll to give her a wary look. Surely Will wouldn't have told her about the magic?

Irene smiled teasingly. "For example, I hear that he once dyed your scarf blue."

Merlin relaxed and rolled his eyes. Will never _did_ say how he'd managed that one—it wasn't like they kept fabric dye around. Merlin had made himself another red scarf, but he'd kept the blue one. If he hadn't stitched his name into the corner, he never would have believed it was the same one. The dye had turned out very well.

"And I _also_ hear that he put spiders in your clothes, and you kept swatting at invisible bugs for days," Irene continued.

Merlin felt some red beginning to creep into his cheeks. Ever since that day, he made sure never to let Will out of his sight when they went swimming. The spiders hadn't been poisonous—Will was careful about that—but those bites _itched_.

"And his _proudest_ accomplishment is using a beehive and an imaginary kitten to get you stuck in a tree," Irene laughed. "I'd have paid to see that."

Merlin was definitely blushing now. He'd ended up using magic to knock the tree over so that he could get out. He'd nearly flattened Old Man Simmons in the process—fortunately, Simmons hadn't seen the magic, but the incident certainly hadn't made him any fonder of Merlin. All-in-all, it had been one of the most humiliating moments of Merlin's life, and apparently Will was going around boasting about it.

[I am _so_ going to murder Will,] Merlin signed.

"I…don't know what that means," Irene said awkwardly.

Merlin jerked his head at Will and mimed slitting his throat.

Irene laughed. "I can't say I blame you. It sounds like he enjoys tormenting you."

Merlin shrugged. He knew it was all in good fun really. Will's jokes helped to keep him from slipping back into the depression he'd suffered right after the raid. On the other hand, he would _really_ appreciate it if Will didn't go around telling the stories to pretty girls…


	6. Second Thoughts

**A/N: This is set in the Prince of Magic universe and takes place a few days after Will becomes Merlin's servant; Merlin is 12 and Will is 13.**

* * *

Late one evening, Merlin led Will through the empty stables. "Why do I need to know anything about your horses?" Will complained.

"Because as my servant, it will be your duty to care for both the horses and their tack," Merlin explained patiently.

"Aren't there stable boys for that?" Will grumbled.

"They look after the horses that belong to lesser nobles who do not have personal servants. They have quite enough to do." Merlin stopped and sniffed the air. "Do you smell smoke?"

Will also sniffed the air. "Yeah." There was a crackling sound, and he turned to see orange flames leaping up the side of the stables and rapidly moving toward the only exit. He glanced back at Merlin, eyes wide.

"Run!" Merlin ordered.

The two boys ran toward the exit, but halfway there a flaming rafter fell and hit Merlin. Merlin was knocked to the ground, pinned beneath the heavy beam. Will paused and looked back at the sound. Merlin struggled with the beam, obviously fighting to remain conscious. He looked up at his servant. "Will…" he coughed out pleadingly.

Will turned and ran. He just barely made out of the stables before the fire blocked off the exit completely. Outside, several people were pointing at the flaming stables and calling for buckets of water.

* * *

A few hours later, the fire had been put out. An unconscious Merlin had been pulled from the wreckage and carried back to his chambers. Gaius went to tend to the younger prince, but Will remained in the physician's chambers, afraid to face his new employer after what he had done.

After his father died, Will had sworn to himself that he would never trust anyone of nobility. Almost as soon as he agreed to become Merlin's servant, he had regretted it. He convinced himself that Merlin only offered the job out of pity, and that soon Merlin would forget all about Will's father and would come to view him as an expendable lackey. But by leaving Merlin to die in that fire, Will realized that he had been no better. And once Merlin recovered…Will shuddered to think what the prince might do to him.

The door opened. Gaius stood in the doorway, looking solemn. "Will. Merlin has requested your presence."

Will swallowed nervously. "Right now?"

Gaius nodded.

* * *

Will knocked on the door to Merlin's chambers. A voice bid him enter. Merlin lay in his bed, swathed in bandages and propped up against a pillow. To Will's utter confusion, Merlin broke into a smile at the sight of his servant.

"Thank god you're all right!" Merlin exclaimed, his voice raspy from smoke inhalation. "I didn't see if you made it out."

"You…were worried about me?" Will asked uncertainly.

"Of course I was," Merlin replied, sounding surprised that Will would ever have thought otherwise. "For a moment, I was afraid you were going to try to get that beam off me instead of getting out of there."

"You mean…you _wanted_ me to leave you behind?" Will repeated incredulously.

"There was no way you were going to be able to lift it," Merlin stated matter-of-factly. "You'd have gotten trapped too. No point in us _both_ dying." He broke off in a violent coughing fit. Will hesitated, then hurried forward to grab a goblet of water from Merlin's nightstand and handed it to the prince. Merlin took a large gulp and finally caught his breath. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Will replied, not meeting Merlin's eyes. "And…I'm sorry I wasn't more help in the stables."

"Don't worry about it," Merlin reassured. "I'm just glad you're okay."

Will nodded, finally chancing a glance at Merlin's face. There was no anger or blame in Merlin's expression, only genuine relief that Will was unharmed.

Will looked away again. Clearly Merlin was different from Cenred. He might be a royal, but he accorded Will's life at least as much value as his own. Will silently swore to himself that he would return the favor, and protect Merlin should the occasion arise.


	7. Old Married Couple

**A/N: This takes place in the Little Brother universe. It is set a few months before the raid; Merlin, Freya and Saemar are all about 9.**

* * *

Freya put her hands on her hips. "Merlin, you are _not allowed_ in that tree! How many times do I have to tell you?"

Merlin casually leaned back against the trunk, obscuring the triskelion that Freya had carved into the bark. "You don't get to ban people from trees. If I want to climb it, I will."

Freya stomped her foot. "Get out of that tree right now, or I'll…I'll…"

Merlin's eyes flashed, and a pile of leaves drifted off the ground and began circling Freya in a small whirlwind. "What was that?" Merlin called. "Can't hear you!"

"You—you—argh!" Freya whirled around and began stalking toward the camp. She had only taken a few steps when Saemar emerged from the trees and held out Mordred.

"Here, have a baby," Saemar told her. Freya shot him a baffled look, but took Mordred and began cooing at the infant. Saemar smirked. "There. Now you three are a family. Mother, father and baby."

" _What?!_ " Merlin and Freya yelped at the same time.

"Oh come on, you two are always arguing like an old married couple!" Saemar pointed out. "And Mother says that when a boy and a girl argue as much as you do, sooner or later they get married!"

Merlin folded his arms. "Absolutely not."

Freya took a step away from the tree, clutching Mordred. "Not now, not ever."

"See?" Saemar said triumphantly. "You _can_ agree with each other!"

"We're agreeing that we don't want to get married!" Merlin retorted.

Freya nodded. "Exactly! This is _my_ baby, not his!"

"What?" Merlin exclaimed in mock offense. "You'd keep me away from my son?"

"He's not your son!"

"You mean…you've been having an _affair_?!"

"I can't have an affair if I'm not married to you!"

Merlin gasped dramatically and put a hand over his heart. "All this time…I thought we really had something…and now you shatter my heart into a thousand pieces."

"Oh all right!" Freya cried, exasperated. "Would you like to hold the baby?"

"Very much so." Merlin started to climb out of the tree, then he froze. "This is a trick, isn't it. You just want me out of the tree!"

"Hmmm." Freya gently bounced Mordred. "Tree or baby, take your pick."

Merlin leaned back against the tree again. "I don't know. I'd have to think about that one. It's a very big decision…tree…baby…you really can't go wrong with a nice, big tree."

Mordred gurgled and reached up to tug on Freya's hair. "Hey!" she protested, prying her hair out of his grip. Mordred simply grabbed another strand. "Saemar, make him stop!"

Merlin slid out of the tree and walked over to her. "On second thought, I like this baby very much."

"Please, take him!" Freya begged, trying to keep Mordred's hands out of her hair. Merlin reached out and took Mordred, nearly taking a chunk of Freya's hair as well.

Saemar leaned against another tree. "It's like you're parents already."

"Oh shut up," Freya snapped at him. She climbed the tree with the triskelion, sat on a low branch and turned to Merlin. "And stay out of my tree!"

"Why would I need a tree when I have our son?"

"I hate you," Freya grumbled.

"No you don't," Merlin countered cheerfully.

Saemar laughed. "If I didn't know better, Em, I'd say you're starting to like the idea of marrying Freya."

Merlin's smile immediately vanished. "No way." He handed Mordred back to Saemar. "Mordred is not our son and I do _not_ want to marry Freya!" He stormed off in the direction of the camp.

Saemar grinned at his little brother. "We know better, Mordred, don't we? They'll be falling in love and getting married before you know it."


	8. Present for Morgana

**A/N: This takes place in the Prince of Magic universe. It takes place a few weeks after Gorlois's death; Merlin is 7, Arthur is 9, Morgana is 10 and Gwen is 8.**

* * *

Merlin and Arthur sat in the stable loft, looking down at the white mare Uther had bought for Morgana. Morgana had yet to come see the horse…or leave her new room for any reason.

"If she doesn't want the horse, I'll take it," Arthur commented.

Merlin wrinkled his nose. "You do realize that's a _girl_ horse?"

"Apparently not, cause Morgana's a girl and she doesn't want it."

Merlin swung his legs over the edge of the loft. "Well what _does_ she want? She didn't come out for the feast, she didn't come out for jewelry, she didn't come out for flowers, and she didn't come out for the horse!"

"I dunno," Arthur mused. "I thought girls were supposed to like those sorts of things."

"Maybe we should ask another girl," Merlin suggested.

Arthur's eyes lit up. "Or maybe we should bring her a girl!" He stood up and climbed out of the loft, followed by Merlin.

The brothers walked out into the courtyard. Arthur looked around and quickly spotted a dark-skinned young girl in peasant clothing. He approached her and regally lifted his chin. "You! Come with us at once."

"Uh…yes, Sire." The girl curtsied. "Where are we going?"

"To meet a girl." Arthur grabbed the girl's hand and began dragging her toward the castle.

Soon, they reached Morgana's chambers. Merlin knocked. "Leave me alone!" Morgana yelled.

"We're not Father!" Merlin yelled back.

"I don't care! Go away!"

"But we brought you a present!" Arthur wheedled.

After a few moments, Morgana opened the door just a crack. She frowned at the peasant girl. "Who are you?"

"She's your present!" Arthur said proudly.

Morgana glared at him. "People aren't presents!"

Merlin's face fell. "So…you don't want her?"

Morgana sniffed haughtily and turned to the girl, ignoring both Arthur and Merlin. "Sorry about those idiots. Would you like to come in? You don't have to if you don't want to. Really."

The girl thought about it for a moment. "I'll come in." Morgana opened the door enough for the girl to enter, then slammed it in Arthur and Merlin's faces.

Inside the room, the girl looked around in awe. "I've never seen anywhere so…so… _rich_!"

Morgana scowled. "Being rich isn't as great as it sounds. Not when your father gets killed in the war."

"Oh. I'm sorry." The girl hesitated, then held out a hand. "I'm Guinevere, but everyone calls me Gwen."

Morgana smiled and shook Gwen's hand. "Nice to meet you, Gwen. I'm Lady Morgana, but you can call me Morgana."

Gwen's eyes widened. "You're the king's new ward?"

Morgana scowled again. "So he says. I never agreed to be his ward."

"But…you're practically a princess!" Gwen said excitedly. "Ooh! And maybe one day you'll marry Arthur and be queen!"

"Marry Arthur?" Morgana exclaimed in disgust. "That brat that tried to treat you like property?"

Gwen shrugged. "He's a prince, he's allowed. And he's kind of handsome."

"You like him so much, _you_ marry him," Morgana sniffed.

Gwen shook her head. "Blacksmith's daughters don't marry princes. Not unless they live in fairy tales."

Morgana's eyes lit up. "Your father is a blacksmith? Can I meet him?"

"Well…if you really want to," Gwen agreed, slightly confused. "Why are you so interested in blacksmiths?"

"I've always wanted to see a forge." Morgana grabbed a shawl and headed for the door. "And if we're going to be friends, I should meet your family."

"We're going to be friends?" Gwen repeated in surprise.

Morgana linked arms with Gwen. "Of course we are. Lead the way."


End file.
